Remember MySpace? Or Friendster? No one talks much about Friendster anymore, because it was basically exactly Facebook. I remember the first time someone told me about Facebook, which I had just missed by graduating a little too early and not…
Revisionist History
From time to time during the seven years of this blog’s existence, I’ve added new categories for indexing the various kinds of posts one sees on this page. I’ve long eschewed the notion of a specialized blogging pursuit, such as…
Password Protection and Self-Defeating Security
This country has a bit of a problem with a false sense of security. So-called revelations have been abounding this week over the extent and nature of some specific acts of torture enacted by the CIA during the Bush administration…
My Life with (Ms.) Pac-Man (or 84,400 Points Can’t Be Wrong)
Ms. Pac-Man has played a major role in my existence. I think I first played the arcade classic in the early-mid 1980s, probably just after it had come out. My father was a big fan of the early Pac-Man tables…
My Public Ballot, 2014 Louisiana Run-Off Edition
This is probably the most inconsequential election I’ve ever taken part in, especially given that my primary act was to abstain from the headline race because (a) it literally forced me to vote for a Democrat or a Republican and…
321,000 Jobs Fail to Change Unemployment Data
Nothing changed in November. At least as far as the jobs numbers go. The BLS announced in today’s report that unemployment and labor force participation were unchanged at 5.8% and 62.8%, respectively. This means we have precisely mirrored last month’s…
Cop Immunity
When I was in high school, I devised a thought experiment that I discussed extensively with my friends. It was called “Cop Immunity”. My question was whether someone would take the deal of having total immunity to all interactions of…
Fear Factor
I am continually discovering how much of my life is fueled by fear. I’ve ridiculed fear a lot in this blog lately, most especially in criticizing what motivates voters and pointing out how silly it is for Americans to fear…
Tournament Time
I love tournaments. I already talked a couple months back about how I love competition for its own sake, the thrills of the rise and fall of one’s prospect and the possibility of winning something. And I’ve even meditated extensively…
Why We Love Serial… and May Eventually Hate It
Spoiler alert, kind of: I will make reference to anecdotes about this show through its current airing, which is Episode 9, but probably not say anything that actually ruins your listening experience of the show, yet. More spoiling might be…